LOOP - Sector: Financial --- Industry: Property Management

[setravis]

Profile:  


LoopNet, Inc.
185 Berry Street
Suite 4000
San Francisco, CA 94107
United States - Map
Phone: 415-243-4200
Fax: 415-764-1622
Web Site: http://www.loopnet.com

DETAILS  
Index Membership: N/A
Sector: Financial
Industry: Property Management
Full Time Employees: 266


BUSINESS SUMMARY  
LoopNet, Inc. operates an online marketplace for commercial real estate in the United States. Its online marketplace, LoopNet.com enables commercial real estate agents working on behalf of property owners and landlords to list properties for sale or for lease by submitting detailed property listing information, including descriptions, financial and tenant information, photographs, and property characteristics in order to find a buyer or tenant. As of December 31, 2007, the LoopNet online marketplace contained approximately 560,000 listings. The company also operates BizBuySell, an online marketplace for operating businesses for sale. As of the above date, BizBuySell contained approximately 49,900 listings of operating businesses for sale. LoopNet also provides LoopLink, an online real estate marketing and database services suite to commercial real estate firms that enables them to showcase their available properties both on the LoopNet marketplace and on the brokerage firm's own Web site using the company's hosted search software. In addition, the company provides RecentSales, a nationwide database of recent commercial real estate transactions collected from sales initiated through its online marketplace and from third party information providers. LoopNet was incorporated in 1997 and is headquartered in San Francisco, California.

[setravis]

Press Release Source: LoopNet, Inc.


LoopNet, Inc. Announces First Quarter 2008 Financial Results
Wednesday April 30, 4:01 pm ET 
Year Over Year Revenue Growth of 33% - Adjusted EBITDA Growth of 31%


SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--LoopNet, Inc. (NASDAQ:LOOP - News), today announced financial results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2008.


Revenue for the first quarter of 2008 was $20.6 million, an increase of 33% from $15.5 million in the first quarter of 2007. Net income for the first quarter of 2008 was $4.9 million or $0.12 per diluted share, compared to $4.5 million or $0.11 per diluted share in the first quarter of 2007. Net income in the first quarter of 2008 included $0.01 per diluted share of litigation related costs.

LoopNet's Adjusted EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and litigation related costs) for the first quarter of 2008 was $9.6 million, an increase of 31% from $7.3 million in the first quarter of 2007. The Company has reported Adjusted EBITDA because management uses it to monitor and assess the Company's performance and believes it is helpful to investors in understanding the Company's business.

"We are pleased to report another quarter of strong financial results for the first quarter of 2008. The LoopNet team has continued to execute our business plan with outstanding focus on providing value to our customers," said LoopNet Chairman and CEO Richard Boyle. "With solid growth in our core marketplace delivering unparalled value to our users, as well as strategic moves such as the REApplication acquisition, we believe we are well positioned to continue to build our business for the future."

The number of LoopNet registered members, which includes both basic and premium members, grew to 2,781,109 during the first quarter of 2008, a 39% increase over the first quarter of 2007. The number of LoopNet premium members as of the end of the first quarter of 2008 was 88,226, a 4% increase over the first quarter of 2007. The average monthly price of premium membership increased to $59.20, a 19% increase over the first quarter of 2007. There were 596,000 total commercial real estate listings active on the LoopNet marketplace as of the end of the first quarter, a 24% increase over the first quarter of 2007. In addition, there were 44.2 million profile views of listings on the LoopNet marketplace during the quarter, a 15% increase over the first quarter of 2007. Average monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2008, as reported by comScore Media Metrix, were approximately 950,000, a 7% increase over the first quarter of 2007.

Stock Repurchase Program

Since the announcement of the $50 million stock repurchase program on February 5, 2008, the Company has repurchased 3,306,163 shares of its common stock for $39.1 million, which represents 9.3% of shares outstanding.

Balance Sheet and Liquidity

As of March 31, 2008, LoopNet had $76.3 million of cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments and no debt.

2008 Outlook

Based on current visibility, the Company expects revenue for the quarter ending June 30, 2008 to be in the range of $21.7 to $22.0 million, Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $9.5 to $9.8 million and net income to be in the range of $0.12 to $0.13 per diluted share, assuming stock-based compensation of $0.02 to $0.03 per share (net of tax benefit) and an effective tax rate of approximately 41.2%. The Company expects revenue for the full year of 2008 to be in the range of $86.3 to $88.3 million, Adjusted EBITDA to be in the range of $37.5 to $39.5 million and net income to be in the range of $0.45 to $0.48 per diluted share, assuming stock-based compensation of $0.10 to $0.11 per share (net of tax benefit) and an effective tax rate of approximately 41.2%. The Adjusted EBITDA and net income guidance for the quarter ending June 30, 2008 and the full year of 2008 exclude litigation related costs.

Conference Call Information

LoopNet, Inc. will discuss these financial results in a conference call at 1:30 p.m. PDT, 4:30 p.m. EDT, today. To participate in the conference call, please dial 866-256-9239 if you are calling from within the United States or 703-639-1213 if you are calling from outside the United States and enter pass code number 1225870. Investors may also listen to a live web cast of the conference call on the investor relations section of our website at investor.LoopNet.com/events.cfm. For investors unable to participate in the live conference call, an audio replay will be available until Monday, May 5, 2008 at 8:59 p.m. PDT. To access the audio replay, dial 888-266-2081 within the United States or 703-925-2533 internationally and enter pass code number 1225870. A web cast replay of the call will be available on the investor relations section of our website at investor.LoopNet.com/events.cfm approximately two hours after the conclusion of the call and will remain available for 30 calendar days.

Non-GAAP Financial Measures

This press release includes a discussion of Adjusted EBITDA, which is a non-GAAP financial measure provided as a complement to results provided in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America ("GAAP"). The term "Adjusted EBITDA" refers to a financial measure that we define as earnings before net interest, income taxes, depreciation, amortization, stock-based compensation and litigation related costs. Adjusted EBITDA is not a substitute for measures determined in accordance with GAAP, and may not be comparable to Adjusted EBITDA as reported by other companies. We believe Adjusted EBITDA to be relevant and useful information to our investors as this measure is an integral part of our internal management reporting and planning process and is the primary measure used by our management to evaluate the operating performance of our business. We also believe that Adjusted EBITDA allows for a more accurate comparison of our operating results over historical periods. The components of Adjusted EBITDA include the key revenue and expense items for which our operating managers are responsible and upon which we evaluate their performance, and we also use Adjusted EBITDA for planning purposes and in presentations to our board of directors. A limitation of Adjusted EBITDA is that it does not include all items that impact our net income for the period. Management compensates for this limitation by also relying on the comparable GAAP financial measure of net income, which includes the items that are excluded from Adjusted EBITDA. A reconciliation of this non-GAAP measure to GAAP is provided in the attached tables.

About LoopNet, Inc.

LoopNet is the leading online marketplace for commercial real estate and businesses for sale in the United States. Our online marketplace, available at www.LoopNet.com, enables commercial real estate agents, working on behalf of property owners and landlords, to list properties for sale or for lease by submitting detailed property listing information in order to find a buyer or tenant. Commercial real estate brokers, agents, buyers and tenants use the LoopNet online marketplace to search for available property listings that meet their commercial real estate criteria. By connecting the sources of commercial real estate supply and demand in an efficient manner, we believe that LoopNet enables commercial real estate participants to initiate and complete more transactions more cost-effectively than through other means. LoopNet also delivers technology and information services to commercial real estate organizations to manage their online listing presence and optimize property marketing.

Forward Looking Statements

This release contains forward-looking statements regarding LoopNet's expectations regarding its future financial results as well as trends in the commercial real estate industry. These statements are based on current information and expectations that are inherently subject to change and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Actual events or results might differ materially from those in any forward-looking statement due to various factors, including, but not limited to economic events or trends in the commercial real estate market or in general, our ability to continue to attract new registered members, convert them into premium members and retain such premium members, seasonality, our ability to manage our growth, our ability to introduce new or upgraded products or services and customer acceptance of such services, our ability to obtain or retain listings from commercial real estate brokers, agents and property owners, and competition from current or future companies. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those in any forward looking statement are contained in our Form 10-Q filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), and subsequent SEC filings made by us. Copies of filings made by us with the SEC are available on the SEC's website or at http://investor.loopnet.com/sec.cfm. LoopNet does not intend to update the forward-looking statements included in this press release which are based on information available to us as of the date of this release.

[setravis]

Watch this stock! Going higher.......
Commercial Real Estate is exploding at an astronomical rate... And that has nothing to do with the "credit crunch".... investors assume since people are defaulting on loans, companies and commercial businesses all have to follow suit... somebody may need to take Econ.101 AGAIN.. Great company, great leadership, great buy.
Just look at their net earnings and net equity. This compnay has lots of cash on hand.
Revenue growth is strong, price is near the 52 week low, and although earnings growth hasn't matched revenue growth yet, I think with the increase of customers, this will go up.

52wk Range: 10.59 - 26.37
Volume: 1,115,529
Avg Vol (3m): 396,158
Market Cap: 468.44M
P/E (ttm): 24.20
EPS (ttm): 0.52

Technicals
Gap Up
Percentage Gainer

Last Price Quote is:
10.76%above 13-day MA
3.12%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 22 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $388.84 
P/E Ratio: 20.97 
PEG Ratio: 0.850187 
Next Earnings: 07/23/2008
Last Analyst Rating: Buy

[setravis]

The leading commercial property marketplace posted net income of $0.13 a share, before a small litigation charge. The results were modestly above the $0.11 a share it earned a year ago and the $0.12 a share in analyst guesstimates, but you also have to consider the pessimism surrounding this space.

Many expected LoopNet to fall into a rut once residential real estate weakness migrated to the commercial side. It hasn't been entirely contagious, thankfully, but LoopNet has also grown its reach by housing listings for nearly 600,000 properties. You can be at the wrong place at the wrong time and still make money if you have the better mousetrap.

So, keep watching the companies that lap expectations. Over time, it will be a rewarding experience for investors, as the market rewards the overachievers.


52wk Range: 10.59 - 26.37
Volume: 532,877
Avg Vol (3m): 397,970

Technicals
Last Price Quote is:
11.60%above 13-day MA
7.50%above 50-day MA
RS Rating: 25 

Fundamentals
Key Data:
Market Cap (M): $437.04 
P/E Ratio: 23.57 
PEG Ratio: 0.981273 
Next Earnings: 07/23/2008
Last Analyst Rating: Buy

[Houlahan]

applaud! Thx for the info. I sleep through Econ.101, so boring at the time. lol..not now.